Another fine Chalk It Up

The cloudy sky threatened rain, but never delivered. And thankfully so. In its 10th year, Artpace’s Chalk It Up festival brought some great visual, chalk art to Houston Street. My favorite, by far, was Tommy Hopkins’ stunning recreation of an old family photo taking in Old San Antonio. Done is blue monochrome, it was that perfect marriage of depicting the old downtown in a contemporary way, like in the direction downtown’s going. With the help of an assistant, Bryanna Derderian created a mash up of “Breaking Bad” characters and iconic images but presented in the compartmentalized style of “Grand Theft Auto.” She is an unofficial artist, and last year, she drew a poster of “The Walking Dead.” Jimmy James Calanes’ abstract, ambiguous, pata piece was another highlight. His method, running around in circles with chalk on his feet, was entertaining. The different layers of colors seeped into each other to look like the water’s surface.